Wim Vandekeybus's ''Speak low if you speak love...'' by Ivar Draaisma

 Speak low   if you    speak love

Written by Ivar Draaisma

''Speak low if you speak love isn’t an opera, nor a musical in the usual sense of the word, but a stirring combination of experimental music and the classical tradition.''  

~ Wim Vandekeybus

For Wim Vandekeybus love is perhaps the most unwitnessed and capricious of all our inner states of mind: ''it moves mountains, and creates immeasurable heights and depths. It gives strength, but causes devastating pain when it turns against you. Love inspires poetry: it is exalted and cursed.'' Wim Vandekeybus describes love as an exhausting and energy-draining emotion that results in a conflict more often than ecstasy.

In this performance I could see how Vandekeybus experimented with love, what love can do and what you can achieve with it. It showed innocent love, love as an outrage, game or seduction. The eight dancers are on stage for almost two hours. showing explosive duets and duels about who is the strongest. The dancers constantly run into each other in this choreography. Time to time you will see a hug or a kiss, which can be called ''love as we know it''. But the most of time you will see the four men and four women being drifted apart or separated. Guided by onstage musicians, consisting of couple of guitars, percussion and the voice of the South-African Tutu Puoane they try to look a certain connection. The dancers were most of the time, wear shorts. So a big part of the body was bare and clearly visible. I prefer dancers not wearing a lot of clothes. I can see more emotion, honesty and it is more natural.

You would almost think that love is an illusion. On the site of UltimaVez, Vandekeybus tells us that his inspiration for this piece was the Greek mythology which consists of failing love stories. But it is not because of this that you can notice that the dancers are getting tired, And it does not matter how powerful the movements and body language are. I felt like a lot of scenes are being stretched, which results in that the thrill of the choreography will decrease.

All in all it is a very explosive and heavy piece and it is a lot to let it sink in. But I would definitely recommend this production by Vandekeybus. The physicality of the dancers is truly beautiful to see. The connection between the dancers with the musicians on the background were present, honest and right. Every now and then a singer or guitarist would come in between the dancers and give them impulses by using their instrument or even by touching them. There was one scene that really touched me. One dancer was being put in a coffin by the other dancers. this reminded me of the loss of someone that i love so much. Personally seen it showed me how cruel love can be, and also how beautiful it can be. 

Click here to see the teaser of ''Speak low if you speak love''

LOCATION, DATE&TIME
Schouwburg Tilburg,
11th of Octobre 2016,
20:15-22:00

DIRECTION, CHOREOGRAPHY, SCENOGRAPHY
Wim Vandekeybus

CREATED WITH & PERFORMED BY
Jamil Attar, Livia Balazova, Chloé Beillevaire, David Ledger, Tomislav English, Nuhacet Guerra Segura, Sandra Geco Mercky, Maria Kolegova

ALSO PERFORMED BY
Diego Sanou

ORIGINAL MUSIC (LIVE)
Mauro Pawlowski, Elko Blijweert, Jeroen Stevens, Tutu Puoane

ARTISTIC ASSISTANT & DRAMATURGE
Greet Van Poeck

MOVEMENT ASSISTANTS
Iñaki Azpillaga, Máté Mészáros

STYLIST
Isabelle Lhoas ASSISTED BY Isabelle De Cannière

LIGHTING DESIGN
Davy Deschepper, Wim Vandekeybus

SOUND DESIGN
Bram Moriau, Antoine Delagoutte

STAGE MANAGER
Tom de With

SCENOGRAPHIC ADVICE
Isabelle Lhoas, Davy Deschepper

COSTUMES STUDIO
Lieve Meeussen

TECHNICAL COORDINATION
Davy Deschepper

Sources: http://www.theaterstilburg.nl/evenementen/4633/speak-low-if-you-speak-love#information-tab
            http://www.ultimavez.com/en/productions/speak-low-if-you-speak-love